Photos Capture Change in Martian Climate

High-resolution images of Mars’ south pole show changes in pits, ridges and mounds on the polar cap that suggest dramatic erosion of the cap’s year-round frosty layers, a possible sign of global climate change, researchers reported in the Dec. 7 issue of Science. Photos taken by the Mars Global Surveyor show that as much as a third of the ice in the polar caps turns into gas each summer, much more than previously suspected.

The measurements also indicate that the carbon dioxide ice in the caps is very icy, like water ice, only denser, researchers said--not like the puffy, powdery snow seen on Earth.

The dramatic change in atmospheric pressure resulting from evaporation of the ice may be the cause of Martian dust storms, the team said.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II